Artystka a rynek sztuki: Magdalena Abakanowicz

Weronika Ptak in the paper The Artist and the Art Market: Magdalena Abakanowicz analyzes the presence of Magdalena Abakanowicz's works on the international and domestic art market, with an emphasis on the auction market. The analysis of the auction results is accompanied by the biographical outline and artistic activity of the artist. In the first part, the artist's biography is outlined, including exhibitions and biennials important for her artistic career, which are presented in the context of the feminist history of art that was developing at that time and the first exhibitions devoted exclusively to the work of women artists. The further part of the text presents the division of the art market and its components, which affect both the position of artists and female artists, as well as their prices on the secondary market. Exhibitions, biennials, art fairs and many other factors contribute to the situation of each of the creators on the auction market, which is the only one that allows you to track transaction data. The presence of Magdalena Abakanowicz works on the global auction market has been traced from the first New York Sotheby's auction in 1988, to the 2019 auction record set at the Warsaw auction house DESA Unicum. As part of the introduction, a historical sketch and specificity of the Polish art market have been outlined, to analyze the presence of Magdalena Abakanowicz's works on the domestic art market in the context of the international market in a later part of the section. At the end of the text, the most important achievements of Magdalena Abakanowicz are presented, such as an unconventional approach to textiles and the initiation of an artistic installation, the creation of which by the artists is indispensably connected with, among others, with feminist movements and the role of female artists in creating public sculptures and city monuments. The presence of the artist on the global art market was also summarized, along with references to the representation of female artists' works in permanent collections and the average median, which has been lower than that received by men for decades.